My Dallas and Nashville trip

[jsb]

Just arrived back home and decided to jot down some observations on the trip.

1. Most disappointing was missing Mr. Doohickie, really was trying to catch up with him but with the horrible driving in weather we had, having a hard time finding the hotel because of same, having to find something to eat prior to game and then Uber-ing into the arena, I just couldn't find the time to meet up with him. All my fault and was looking forward to this.
2. First time Uber-ing and I'll do it again, nothing but good experiences with it although in Dallas the street they had as a pickup spot at the arena was changed recently to Nowitzki street and us not knowing this made it a nightmare to find.
3. Sabres totally outplayed the Stars. All the goals were scored on our end of the arena except the Dahlin goal but we had the perfect angle on the shot. Someone mentioned in the GDT that they thought Ullmark was out of position. From my take on it was he came out of the goal to take away the angle on the shot from the point but it made the perfect bank shot off the wall unto Benn's stick and Linus had no chance on the goal. Besides that this was the best I've seen the Sabres team defense play in my trips to Dallas. First win for me there also.
4. Turning point of the game IMO, Bogosian taking a hit behind the goal, at that point of the game Dallas was taking it to the Sabres and were really being physical with them. Historically that usually meant we were going to back down and get completely taken out of the game and the Dallas crowd was really getting into it. Bogosian then single handedly put several hits on the Stars including dominating someone into our goal and this then sparked the team and completely quieted the crowd. The Sabres shortly thereafter took over the game IMO.
5. Getting tickets to the Stars game was easy as pie and we had great seats and the Dallas arena takes drink orders so you don't have to leave your seats to get a beverage. You also may be surprised how many Sabre fans were at both arenas. Never ceases to amaze me how many ex WNY people attend the games in their Sabre gear. Saw a ton of the new 50th anniversary jerseys being worn also. they do look sweeeeeet. Bills fans travel well in Houston also
6. Getting tickets to the Nashville arena was a nightmare. They'll cancel your ticket order by your billing zip code on your credit card and they had this game pegged as part of a 6 game ticket package so getting around all of this although doable took hours to accomplish. 
7. Having said that about Nashville, the city is amazing, obviously a booming area, reminded me of Houston 40 years ago with a high percentage of young people in the populace and a very adult tourist business. Not much that I could find for the grandkids but the bar and music scene was 2nd to none in cities that I've visited. The Broadway area and the Gulch were awesome. 
8. I thought the Sabres played well in both games, if I was disappointed in anyone it was Pilut, plays well in space but loses every battle where he needs to get physical. Most positive impression was Jokiharju, the kid is much better than my impression of him was. Jack E was the most talented player on the ice in both games. Nothing short of wow, seeing him handle the puck in person and even the opposing crowd was impressed with this guy. A no doubt elite player. Elite speed, puck handling and skating. He was worth the price of admission. If there was one guy who lost the Nashville game for us, it wasn't Bogosian it was Pekka Rinne. I thought Ullmark played very well in both games but Rinne saved the game for the Predators. He deserved the 1st star of the game. Reading some of the posts earlier IMO the Bogosian hate is out of hand, not a great player if he ever was one but the hate for this guy is out of hand, buy yourselves another tv because the game you're watching isn't the same as the two I just saw.
9. We gave up 3 total goals to two quality western conference teams on the road and we're blaming the defenseman, just let it go you're ruining what should be a happy life
10. I'm not necessarily a Girgensons fan but you have to hand it to him he gives you total effort when he's on the ice. 
11. Frolik doesn't wow you but he IMO gives the Sabres a smart veteran presence on the ice, he and Johansson will pair up nicely with Skinner when he comes back. 
12. Labatts Blue in Nashville?? Just for proof......  Gotta love this place if just for that. 

[Doohicksie]

2 hours ago, jsb said:

Most disappointing was missing Mr. Doohickie, really was trying to catch up with him but with the horrible driving in weather we had, having a hard time finding the hotel because of same, having to find something to eat prior to game and then Uber-ing into the arena, I just couldn't find the time to meet up with him. All my fault and was looking forward to this.

Next time, my friend.

[mjd1001]

I agree with you on visiting Nashville.  The bar/nightlife scene isn't really for me, but it is an active downtown area.

I have been to a game in Nashville....not in Dallas, but besides Nashville I have visited several of the other Arenas around the country. Every time I am outside of Buffalo and at a different Arena, one thing sticks with me.  Just how far behind the rest of the league the Arena/gameday experience is in Buffalo. 

And I know...a "Real fan' doesn't need the bells-and-whistles that the other Arenas have...but if I'm only in it for the game and not the gameday/Arena experience, than I can see more of the game at home than I can in person most of the time. The Sabres really have to look into improving the Arena.  Once you see where the rest of the league plays...the broken seats in Buffalo, the cracked concrete, the bathrooms with no hot water...and all the other little things here really stand out.

[Andrew Amerk]

When you’ve been to games in other cities, it really puts it into perspective how terrible the game experience in Buffalo is. Much of it seems to be a whole lot of small details that are ignored, which culminates into a total problem. Yes, most of us are there for the game, but that shouldn’t nullify any attempts at a better experience or entertainment factor for casual fans, new fans, kids, etc. 

One example was the recent “90s” day. I bought tickets to bring my father who has been a fan since inception, and my daughter to her first game. There was a pennant giveaway. They must have been a limited supply, because we didn’t get any. Even my father commented how trivial it would be to only supply a certain amount of a cheap item like a pennant instead of to everyone who paid for a ticket. 

[Taro T]

30 minutes ago, Andrew Amerk said:

When you’ve been to games in other cities, it really puts it into perspective how terrible the game experience in Buffalo is. Much of it seems to be a whole lot of small details that are ignored, which culminates into a total problem. Yes, most of us are there for the game, but that shouldn’t nullify any attempts at a better experience or entertainment factor for casual fans, new fans, kids, etc. 

One example was the recent “90s” day. I bought tickets to bring my father who has been a fan since inception, and my daughter to her first game. There was a pennant giveaway. They must have been a limited supply, because we didn’t get any. Even my father commented how trivial it would be to only supply a certain amount of a cheap item like a pennant instead of to everyone who paid for a ticket. 

Agree totally that they should have enough pennants for the entire crowd.  When they give out T-shirts, which have to cost at least 5x if not 10x the pennants, they have 1 on every seat.  But they only give out 10k pennants.   They do announce that, but is really easy to miss the announcement in the advertisement of that particular night.  And for the cost of ~9k extra they'd garner so much goodwill.  Poundwise, penny foolish.  If I had a spare I'd get it to you, but only have 1.  Sorry.

[Doohicksie]

10 hours ago, Andrew Amerk said:

Even my father commented how trivial it would be to only supply a certain amount of a cheap item like a pennant instead of to everyone who paid for a ticket. 

That's pretty standard for giveaways- they usually include fine print to the effect of "for first 10,000 fans through the gate."  They want you to get there early so you buy another beer.  This is true everywhere.

[Doohicksie]

10 hours ago, Taro T said:

And for the cost of ~9k extra they'd garner so much goodwill. 

Funny thing is, the team typically doesn't even pay for them.  The costs are born by the sponsors of the giveway.  (Not sure if that was the case with the pennant, but it usually is.  There is usually a sponsor logo on the item.)

[Taro T]

1 hour ago, Doohickie said:

Funny thing is, the team typically doesn't even pay for them.  The costs are born by the sponsors of the giveway.  (Not sure if that was the case with the pennant, but it usually is.  There is usually a sponsor logo on the item.)

Those pennants are not sponsored by any of the team's "partners."  All the full cost ($10k at absolute max, probably more like $1k) of the 3/4 standard size pennants appears to have been born by the Pegulas.

[Doohicksie]

Yeah, I did some googling and didn't see any sponsor logos.

But still, the whole "first 10,000 fans" thing is pretty standard stuff.

[Taro T]

44 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

Yeah, I did some googling and didn't see any sponsor logos.

But still, the whole "first 10,000 fans" thing is pretty standard stuff.

True, it is standard.  Doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt their business when people end up disappointed &/or upset that they didn't get the trinket they expected to get.

So, the question is, can an organization that could very well miss the playoffs for a 9th consecutive time really afford to be ticking their customers off further in such a trivial way?  They seem to believe the answer is yes.  Not so sure that's the right answer.

[Andrew Amerk]

8 hours ago, Doohickie said:

That's pretty standard for giveaways- they usually include fine print to the effect of "for first 10,000 fans through the gate."  They want you to get there early so you buy another beer.  This is true everywhere.

I’m well aware of this, being a veteran of many sports games and giveaways. We were there early - but apparently so were 10,000 or less other people (a guy sitting by himself in front of us had a stack of 6 of them somehow). 

I can understand limiting something more “pricey” such as a bobblehead, but this was a cheap pennant. On top of that, this is supposed to be a season of celebrating the fans and the team history. 

[Taro T]

39 minutes ago, Andrew Amerk said:

I’m well aware of this, being a veteran of many sports games and giveaways. We were there early - but apparently so were 10,000 or less other people (a guy sitting by himself in front of us had a stack of 6 of them somehow). 

I can understand limiting something more “pricey” such as a bobblehead, but this was a cheap pennant. On top of that, this is supposed to be a season of celebrating the fans and the team history. 

The guy w/ 6 of them probably just grabbed a stack when entering from the parking garage near the Labatts Brewhouse or getting ready to head up the escalator to the 300's.  There were tons of them lying right there unattended by the escalator. 

[Andrew Amerk]

41 minutes ago, Taro T said:

The guy w/ 6 of them probably just grabbed a stack when entering from the parking garage near the Labatts Brewhouse or getting ready to head up the escalator to the 300's.  There were tons of them lying right there unattended by the escalator. 

He was probably the same person that I saw  selling them for $24.99 on eBay during the 2nd intermission. 

[sweetlou]

also went to Nashville for game this past weekend and had the same problem with getting tickets.  According to one local the Preds "think they are bigger then what they really are".

They only sell tickets to the 5 states neighboring TN as to keep the home ice advantage and allow the local fans to get tickets.

Of course there are ways around it and I was able to get inside.  

As far as the game, the goaltending by Rinne and Ullmark was amazing.  I usually am not a fan of 2-1 games as they can be slow and sloppy.  But this game was entertaining and had lots of scoring chances. Score could have easily been 5-4. 

You could tell Sabres got worn down in the third period, and phantom trip call on Jack cost the Sabres at least a point.

Heres hoping they come out of this week off well rested and can get 14 points out the next ten games.  (nine are at home)